Do we know ourselves?

Here we are, supposedly the 'bluest day of the year, but the sun is shining, the crisp frost is killing off all the infectious diseases, the birds are singing and feeding on the bird feeders, crocus, snowdrops and primula are poking their heads out of the soil, as if to say: Is it time, yet? And the answer is, Yes, it is.

We are ready for the new year. We are delighted that we have survived as far as here.

My song for 2024 is: I'm still standing by Elton John.

Going to have to learn how to upload link.

But do we really appreciate how the world continues to turn without any input from us?

Despite how filthy dirty we are, how irresponsible with our waste, bombs, poisons, the earth sends up new shoots that turn into leaves. Flowers follow fairly swiftly and I know I will have loads of apples, pears, raspberries and herbs in the Summer. Despite the threats of destruction and demise coming from the Greens. Recent reports show that the area between North and South Korea has become a veritable conservation park, human free. Nature has taken over. Insects, small animals, fish and various mammals are in abundance. In Chernobyl, which we had been told would be uninhabitable for centuries, but now has a robust wildlife area, complete with healthy vegetation, lots of ani,mals who have little or no abnormalities, including bears who had more or less disappeared from the area. There are even a few humans who refused to move out and have continued to live there, despite the lack of infrastructure.

So the question is: Do we appreciate how marvellous and resilient Nature is? Have we become withered and weak, ready to complain and give up at the slightest obstacle? Have we got so used to complaining and blaming others that we have institutionalised complaining and are encouraging this thinking in the general population.

Generation Z have just had their first taste of objective assessment as they find them selves being judged, (which has now become a bad word, How dare you judge me!), on their actual performance., using harsh algorithms or just plain financial figures. They scream their mental health is being affected, they wish to share their personal difficulties with work colleagues etc. They will of course have the last laugh, when they show up en masse to vote in some of the 65 elections being held this year.

But the big picture here is that we seem to have lost our awe, admiration and understanding of how wonderful a human is. We start off as a tiny combination of sperm and egg, in the best place which is the womb of the mother. Incredibly, in 9 momths, this becomes a small, robust, complex human, who can exist outside of the body, eat, burb, get rid of waste, sleep, cry and cuddle. Babies are being considered a bother rather than a gift. Some prefer to outsource both the incubation and the minding. A baby's cry hits deep within us and only the heartless can ignore it. The cry is a cry for attention. This is how we survibed from prehistoric times.

The actual make up of the body is truly amazing. Babies have eyelids which bathe the eyes, eye lashes wich protect the eyes, enzymes in the stomach which digest the milk from the mother and turn it into building blocks for growth, discarding what it does not need. The skin is soft but resistant. At 6 weeks the baby smiles, bonds with the mother, continues to grow, starts reaching out hands to grasp foog, recognises family members, starts to focus, sit up, try to stand, takes first steps, says first word, which is often dada, (ha ha), and next thing is ready for college. All this happens on its own, like the plants and trees in my garden. sometimes, accidents happen or diseases intrude, but overall , it is an amazing system, beautifully designed, that we do not appreciate half enough.

And then look at us. We have been around for quite a while, still have something to offer and there we get to a central part of being human, we have a desire to contribute and ambition to succeed. It is built in, just as the emergence of the smile.. Together with this is our ability to trust-that our institutions are working for us, that our politicians are improving society for all, that our justice system delivers justice rather than punishment, that we can trust our doctors and nurses to look after us. A fairly big ask.

So, on this cold frosty morning, take time to give thanks for all the experiences, memories, friends, family, opportunities, homes, jobs, holidays, educational opportunities that we have been fortunate enough to have experienced. Give thanks for your eye lids. Remember what it is like if a tiny bit of grit gets in your eye. give thanks to your intestines which have to cope with all the rubbish we load into our bodies, give thanks to your heart which pumps all the blood around your body, without any effort on your part. Give thanks for the wonderful state of sleep, which we need. We are actually high maintenance beings.

Once you start doing this, lots of other suggestions will come to mind.

Get outside and breathe in the clean , fresh air.

Decide on one small action that you will take which will make the world a bit better.